#but the very difference between the english and japanese dialogues.....

[sexysilverstrider]

reading the japanese and english takukamu S supports im just getting really emotional over the japanese version

when i reread the official english version, i realize they kinda water down how takumi really felt. that explains why i got REALLY emotional reading the japanese version. some of the changes were:

english: there is something else I wanted to talk about… japanese: will you listen to my request?

while this doesnt seem much, the eng version makes takumi sound calmer while jpn version makes him sound nervous. it was a bit odd when takumi says request but then

english: So…does this change anything? About your feelings toward us, I mean. japanese: Hey. Earlier... you said you would listen to my request. So, will you... forgive me for this?

apparently after confessing his feelings n telling the truth, jpn takumi clearly felt disgusted and horrified that he has romantic feelings for someone he was supposed to call sister. eng takumi once again makes him feel calmer and chill as if he had enough time to think and ponder--almost as if the big truth wasnt all that much--while jpn takumi is implied to have rued and suffered through his feelings, fearing that kamui will hate or be disgusted with him. after alls said and done, all takumi ever wanted was for kamui to accept him even if she doesnt love him

english: Avatar: When you said that you liked me, my heart started racing. But I didn't want it to show because I didn't know about Father. Everything is so confusing. Takumi: That's right. But in a confusing world, we must cling to the few fragments of truth we share. And the truth is that I love you, Avatar, and you love me. Let's build a future on that. Avatar: Y-yes. I think you're right. Let's give it a shot. What's the worst that could happen? japanese: Kamui: When you said that you liked me earlier, I was really happy. Because we're siblings, I've avoided saying such a thing... Takumi: Kamui-neesan... Kamui: ... But you came straight out and said you liked me. You showed me that it was okay to love you. Thank you, Takumi. I also want to stay by your side... Takumi: Nee-san...!! For you to have the same feelings as me, I've never been this happy in my life. So... I'll give you this ring. ... I'll protect you with my whole life. Kamui: ... I'm so happy, Takumi! From now on, please take care of me! Takumi: Okay...!

once again this ending!!!! while i do like the eng version the fact that it feels......less emotional than the japanese one. yes takumi is more assured of his feelings now that its reciprocated. i hate that the english version doesnt wanna highlight the 'i cant romantically love you coz i thought we were siblings' like cowards. apply the brocon/siscon themes in this game as its supposed to be. but yeah i still do appreciate takumi being more confident and kamui still being hesitant but they both embraced their feelings nicely

but the japanese one

oooohhh OOOHHH kamui straight up saying she loves takumi too but didnt act out coz she thought they were related. takumi preparing A RING eventho he was 70% sure she wont love him the same way. takumi saying he will protect her with his own life which brings the whole conquest story 10x more painful.

english: If you were aiming for my heart, you've struck true. This was meant to be…

cheesy cute S support dialogue. 10/10. adorable. the last sentence is my otp tag for them after all

japanese: Thank you, sister. I'm so very happy. No matter what people think...these feelings won't change. I love you.

HEARTBREAKING HONEST S SUPPORT. 12/10 MAKING ME CRY. LOVE THAT HE PROMISES NO MATTER WHAT HE WILL ALWAYS LOVE HER. GOOD GOD

and my personal favourite difference of them all?

english: I'm sorry. I struggled with whether or not to tell you any of this. After all, now that you know, we can never go back to being siblings. But I couldn't simply pretend to be your brother for the rest of my life. Especially not with the way I felt about you. It is shameful, I know.

again takumi is being calm and somewhat professional. he knows its weird and tbfh i hate that the localization want to highlight how weird it is. we get it i know. but they make takumi level-headed which when i think back is kind of off for him but i appreciate the maturity of his behaviour here

japanese: I'm sorry... Nee-san. I was really at a loss as to whether I should tell you this or not. Now that I have, we can't go back to being siblings. But I... couldn't have beared living my whole life acting as your brother. I would have rather died...

FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK OHHH MY GOOOOD FUCK FUCK FUCK AAAAAAAAAA!!!! i can hear his pain. his sorrow. his guilt. there is no voice acting in the supports but i can HEAR takumis emotions. the very fact that he loves her so so much and he cant bear pretending to be her brother anymore. the very fact that seeing kamui with another man might n will kill him. the very fact that he would rather die than pretending to be someone hes not. this is what im eating. this is what ive been robbed. this very line made me cry THE SECOND I READ IT im about to cry now!!! that very last line is just a big Fuck You to his fate in conquest GOD AAAAAAAAAA

[magatahmabun]

A short summary on why many Japanese fans don’t see Apollo and Nahyuta as brothers:

-The localization and original Japanese version differ quite a bit. Dhurke’s speech quirk of constantly calling Apollo “son” is not present in the Japanese version. The father-son themes are much, much more overt in the localization. Like, they’re still present in the Japanese version and Dhurke still clearly view Apollo as his son but the localization bashes you in the head with it.

-The localization makes it seem like Apollo was legally adopted by Dhurke when the Japanese version makes it clear that wasn’t the case.

-There’s many official supplemental materials in Japanese clarifying Apollo and Nahyuta’s relationship that don’t exist in English.

-Lack of sibling honorifics and other linguistic aspects/certain dialogue between Apollo and Nahyuta (as well as the lack of such language from characters like Dhurke and Datz) convey that Apollo and Nahyuta don’t see each other as siblings. Nahyuta explicitly uses language that you cannot use with siblings, which I confirmed this with multiple native speakers. A lot of these linguistic aspects are not translatable into English.

-Dhurke’s relationship with Apollo as his foster parent and Dhurke’s relationship with Nahyuta as his blood father is treated as two separate things in both the original version and supplemental materials. Interestingly, both the Japanese and localization, have one line (weirdly in different places) where Nahyuta addresses Dhurke as “Father” whereas Apollo never did such.

-Cultural differences; childhood friends (that aren’t siblings) raised together and sharing parental figures is a very common thing in Asia and trope in Asian Media. It’s possible that the localization went with more of the adopted angle to appeal to the Western audience.

-The scene with Ga’ran referring to Nahyuta Apollo’s brother feels just as shocking as when Dahlia called Maya Phoenix’s girlfriend in 3-5. Ga’ran didn’t know of Apollo’s existence until five minutes before the trial, so the fact on the outsider completely removed from the situation said this, as opposed to Datz and Dhurke, solidifies that Ga’ran knows nothing about them and their relationship. Weirdly enough, Ga’ran mentions “brother” twice in the localization as opposed to just once.

There’s more points I’m forgetting but that’s from the top of my head. I plan on making an extensive post going in detail with screenshots and direct quotes later.

[periwinkla]

Phoenix's careful wording in 4-1

I noticed something about 4-1, Turnabout Trump. Phoenix uses very careful wording. He never outright lies, mostly misdirects. Like when he's asked if the locket is his, and he says the locket has his daughter's photo inside. But the most important misdirection here is about the forged card. He never shows it as actual evidence from the crime scene: if you look carefully at his words, he actually shows it as evidence of the reason why the killer would have taken the card. He's even meticulous about verb choices. In the ENG ver,, he even outright says the card is his. Everyone simply assumes. Also Apollo, unknowingly, doesn't present it as evidence from the crime scene, either. Anyway, here are some parts I found particularly incriminating. JP text beside ENG for comparison's sake. I'll only provide translation for the relevant parts (or the parts that differ between versions). But as you can see, the misdirection is there in the JP version as well. Disclaimer : I only studied Japanese for a little while. AA dialogue is pretty simple though. Also English isn't my native language either. Feel free to correct me on anything wrong here. Also note that I'm not trying to make the translations sound natural, I'm mostly trying to explain what the words are saying, sometimes I'll be more literal than others. Translation =/= localization. Translation notes and musings are in small text.

Judge いかがですかな？　弁護人。 Well, Mr. Justice? カードがスリ替えられて、 持ち去られた“理由”‥‥ The question of why the killer would swap out a card has been raised. そのコンキョを提示できますか？ Can you point to a reason? Apollo (‥‥どうやら、 　ここが“勝負どころ”だ��） (…It's now or never!) なぜ、カードは スリ替えられたのか‥‥。 Naze, kaado wa surikaerareta no ka... The defense would like to present evidence to the court… Naze, kaado wa surikaerareta no ka... Why the card was switched... 弁護側は、その“理由”を 提示したいと思います。 Bengogawa wa, sono "riyuu" o teiji shitai to omoimasu. Evidence showing the reason why a card was swapped out! Bengogawa wa, sono "riyuu" o teiji shitai to omoimasu. The defense would like to present that "reason".

Judge これは‥‥まさか！ Could… this be…!? 現場から持ち去られた “５枚目のＡ”ですかッ！ Could this be the missing fifth ace!? Kristoph ば‥‥バカな！ なぜ‥‥なぜ、キミが‥‥ In-Inconceivable! How could you… そんなものを持っているのだッ！ What are you doing with that card!? Apollo そ、それは‥‥その。 （なんだ、このあわてようは‥‥） Um, well, that's the thing… (Why's Mr. Gavin so upset?) （アヤシイ女の子からもらった、 　ただのアヤシイカードなのに） (Ayashii onna no ko kara moratta, tada no ayashii kaado na noni) (It's just a fishy card from some fishy girl…) (Ayashii onna no ko kara moratta, tada no ayashii kaado na noni) It's just a suspicious card given by a suspicious girl... Apollo doesn't even understand the weight of the card when he presents it. He's just doing what Phoenix is pointing him to. He thinks it's just a suspicious card, and he's only using it to provide a "reason". At first, I was confused by this, because he seemed convinced later on that the card was real. But it appears that at first, he was indeed suspicious of it. It's just as the trial goes on, he's manipulated to think the card is indeed real. Because he trusts Mr. Wright, which *seems* to say it's real. Phoenix そのカードはね。 あの晩、事件の後‥‥ 《ボルハチ》で、 ぼくが拾ったんだよ。 Sono kaado wa ne. Ano ban, jiken no ato... "Boruhachi" de, boku ga hirotta n da yo. Oh, that card? It's mine. That is, I picked it up at the Borscht Bowl Club that night after the murder had occurred. カードは商売道具だからね。 ‥‥ムスメにわたしておいたんだ。 Kaado wa shoubai dougu dakara ne. ...Musume ni watashite oita n da. I gave it to my daughter. Cards are her stock and trade, after all. In the ENG, 'It's mine' is actually an addition. Maybe to drive the point home more? The rest is the same though.

Phoenix じゃ、ハナシをつづけようか。 Ja, hanashi o tsuzukeyou ka. Allow me to elaborate. Ja, hanashi o tsuzukeyou ka. Well then, let's continue this discussion? (fun fact: hanashi can also be traslated as 'story', or even 'fable', you could say hanashi is the noun version of the verb hanasu (to talk, tell) so it's basically anything you 'talk' about) この“血痕”が原因だった としたら、どうでしょう。 Kono "kekkan" ga gen'in datta to shitara, dou deshou. What if this trace of blood was the reason? Kono "kekkan" ga gen'in datta to shitara, dou deshou. (what) If this ''bloodstain'' was the cause... what do you think? The 'dou deshou' is usually also traslated as 'what do you think?' - it's used after you make a statement and you want to ask for the other person's opinion. But mostly it's a rethoric question. 'What about it?' would also fit. Also interesting how "bloodstain" is in quotation marks...

Phoenix 現場写真‥‥被害者の頭部を もう一度、よく見てください。 Take another look at the photo… and at the victim's head. 犯行の瞬間、帽子は床に落ちて、 このとおり‥‥ At the moment of the crime, his hat fell to the floor… ひとすじの血が、 後頭部に向かって流れています。 …and a trickle of blood ran from his forehead down the back of his head. この血が、一滴。カードに落ちた。 ‥‥そうは考えられないでしょうか。 Kono chi ga, hitoshizuku. Kaado ni ochita. ...Sou wa kangaerarenai deshou ka. Couldn't a drop of that blood have fallen on one of the cards? Kono chi ga, hitoshizuku. Kaado ni ochita. ...Sou wa kangaerarenai deshou ka. This blood, this drop. Fell on the card. ...Is that unthinkable? / ...Is that unimaginable? He's basically proposing a theory. Not said the card in Apollo's hand is actually the one. Apollo カードに、血が‥‥ Kaado ni, chi ga... I suppose… Kaado ni, chi ga... On the card, the blood (fell)... Apollo is following along with what he's saying. Phoenix ハンニンは、それを��くすために カードを持ち去ったのです。 Hannin wa, sore o kakusu tame ni kaado o mochisatta no desu. The killer then took the card to hide the blood. Fun choice of words. 'no desu' = 'the explaination is that...' or, in this case: 'the explaination would be...' This is the more literal translation just to make it more obvious how he phrases it: The culprit, in order to hide that he took the card the explaination would be So in a way that it's actually comprehensible: The explaination would be that the culprit took the card in order to hide that (the blood).

Kristoph 成歩堂！　キミも 一度は法廷に立ったオトコだ。 Wright! Regardless of how you wasted the last seven years, you used to be a lawyer! 証拠品を隠すことが、 どれだけ大きな“罪”であるか‥‥ You know what a serious crime it is to conceal evidence! Phoenix そのギロンはあとだよ、先生。 それよりも‥‥ Sono giron wa ato da yo, sensei. Sore yori mo... Oh, we can discuss the finer points of our legal system later… Found it funny how he calls him 'sensei' but in a way that is very mccking. 'Sensei' means someone who is masterful/very knowledgeable in something, in this context, law. He says 'Let's leave that discussion for later, sensei. More importantly...' これで、きみの疑問に 答えるコトができたようだね。 Kore de, kimi no gimon ni kotaeru koto ga dekita you da ne. What's important now is that I've answered your question. Kore de, kimi no gimon ni kotaeru koto ga dekita you da ne. And with that, I was able to answer your question, wasn't I? Basically says the same thing, but uses 'dekiru' = 'to be able to' Kristoph な。なんのコトですか？ Wh-What are you talking about? Phoenix ハンニンがカードを 持ち去った“理由”だよ。 Hannin ga kaado o mochisatta "riyuu" da yo. You wanted to know why the killer would have taken a card from the crime scene. Hannin ga kaado o mochisatta "riyuu" da yo. The "reason" the culprit took the card. カードに残った、１滴の血。 Kaado ni nokotta, hitoshizuku no chi. And now, I've told you. A drop of blood, it feel on the card. (That was why) 彼にとっては“致命的”だった。 ‥‥だから、持ち去った。 Kare ni totte wa "chimeiteki" datta. ...Dakara, mochisatta. That one drop of blood would have been decisive evidence, you see. Kare ni totte wa "chimeiteki" datta. ...Dakara, mochisatta. For him, that (the drop of blood) was 'fatal'. ...So, he took it.

Overall, the word choice in both JP and ENG is very careful, but in different ways since... obviously they're different languages with different idiosyncrasies. In conclusion....

Phoenix basically treated the card not as evidence from a crime scene, but more of an example, a recreation, a construction. Never said that was the actual card. Made people assume. Didn't correct them. So... he manipulated their thoughts. He's like 'oh, you want to know the reason? well, let's see, why would the killer take the card...? well maybe it had incriminating evidence on it - oh what kind of evidence? look at this card here - see this drop of blood? what if the blood fell from the victim's head on the card? so he had to take it - because it would have made it obvious the killer entered from the secret passage and how the murder actually happened' Something that breaks my heart immensly about all this is that Apollo is so adamant at the start of the trial that Mr. Wright would never lie... and he's furious and heartbroken that he basically manipulated him (and everyone else), instead. Phoenix literally couldn't lie anyway, because then Apollo would have known. If you think about it, it's kind of how Engarde was able to lie to Phoenix even though he had the magatama. He purposefully and meticulously manipulated people to think the evidence was real, without ever saying it. Putting the words in other people's mouths. (Also... at least to me, this seems a very prosecutor-like tactic. Perhaps even Von Karma-like.)

Why does he even tell Apollo that he forged it? (He didn't have to.) Because he felt guilty. Apollo asks how he can call himself an attorney and he tells him he, in fact, doesn't call himself one. Doesn't have the right to. Phoenix isn't a liar - he says so himself after the trial, he never lied - but he sure is a manipulator here. But he does feel guilty. He lets Apollo punch him. And he smiles. I think this shows how even when we believe that what we're doing is wrong, we might do it anyways. Out of desperation, anyone might cave and go against their own morals.

[yuurei20]

Hello!

Bit of a dumb question

I wanted to know if it was ever mentioned anywhere that Jade ate his siblings.. My sister keeps saying he said that he ate everyone but kept Floyd bc he looked like he'd be funny or something. I've never seen this mentioned before and I wanna prove her wrong

Hello hello!! ^^ Thank you for this question!

“Jade ate his siblings” is one of many unproven fan theories, based on a number of comments in the game that might be hints about something that may or may not have happened!

The theory goes that Jade and Floyd hatched from eggs (moray eels can lay up to 10,000 eggs at once in real life, though in-game is unspecified) at approximately the same time.

Jade then selected Floyd as the one sibling he would spare, and ate the rest. (The reason why he chose Floyd is technically not specified.)

This is based on many things that can be found throughout the game, such as this cryptic comment from Jade: “I’m glad I chose you as my partner when we were but little elvers.”

Floyd responds, “Not sure what that smile’s for, but I’m glad we survived together, too,” which may insinuate that if something did happen, Floyd might not know what it was.

Jade also says, “there are five in my family at present.” One interpretation of this line is that their family used to be larger, and might get even smaller in the future, but five is where they are at now. 

The more optimistic side of EN fandom will sometimes theorize that maybe their mother is pregnant and there will actually be a new addition to the family soon rather than a loss, but we have been given a surprising amount of information about how common it is for people to go missing in the Coral Sea, with otherwise zero hints that they will soon be getting between 1 and 10,000 new siblings.

The evidence used for the “hatched from eggs” part of the theory comes from Floyd insisting that neither he nor Jade are any older or younger than the other.

This might seem vague in English, where which twin of two was technically born first might not come up very often, but in Japanese one twin being born first would mean that one of them would refer to the other as something like “nii-san,” like Ortho does with Idia, or "aniki," as Ace does with his brother and Leona does with Falena.

(For a real-world example I recommend referring to the Twitter account of Jamil’s voice actor, Futaba Kaname. He has (弟) in his username for “little brother,” while his identical twin Yuu has (兄) in his username for “older brother.”)

But neither Jade nor Floyd refer to one another as “nii-san," "aniki" or anything but their first names.

While “bro” or “brother” will sometimes be added to their dialogue on EN neither twin has ever actually called the other “brother” in their original dialogue, because the Japanese language makes you specify older or younger (an age-neutral word for “brother” doesn’t really exist) and, as Floyd says outright in the game, neither he nor Jade are any older or younger than the other.

This makes sense if they both hatched from eggs at approximately the same time, rather than being born like mammals.

Another point that is often referenced in the “Jade and Floyd: Dead Siblings” topic is how, on the subject of ghosts they have seen, both twins mention seeing people on Halloween that looked strikingly like each other, only to realize that they weren’t. 

Floyd: “I once thought I saw Jade in three different places at once.”

The theory goes that they saw the ghosts of their dead siblings.

This may or may not be considered evidence of how the twins might have had other siblings at one point and something happened to them, but even if so, it could have just been a Finding-Nemo style incident with a barracuda or something similar.

So why do people point to Jade as the perpetrator?

(Maybe irrelevant, but Rook’s nickname for Jade in the original game is, “Monsieur Premeditated Crime.”)

Jade is a heavy eater, on par with Sebek (another thing they have in common is they have both threatened to eat Grim), saying that people are often surprised by how much he eats.

Jade says this is because his “fuel efficiency is lacking” (low blood pressure?).

Floyd is aware of this and seems to go to extra lengths to make sure Jade eats properly, encouraging him to relax and fetching food for him during Halloween.

The original meaning of Jade’s unique magic is, “the tooth that takes out a bite,” so this is definitely a theme with him.

And his official, disliked food? Eel.

To the original question: no, there is not a definitive line in the game that states “Jade ate his siblings” that we can point to as proof that it actually, canonically happened.

But we do have many cryptic lines that might possibly be insinuating that a infamously hungry Jade chose Floyd as the one sibling he would spare and ate the rest, Floyd may not know it happened, and Jade might be actively choosing not to tell him 🐬

[dr-spectre]

Rambling about Marie....

I wanna quickly talk about something because i was looking around on Inkipedia and i stumbled across this interesting dialogue exchange from Callie and Marie during the live performance at Tokaigi in 2018.

Now i have talked about the official translation of this dialogue before a while back and it's surprisingly very different from the translation done on Inkipedia. Now this could be just a very rough translation and that's why the Inkipedia one is so different but i find it to be very interesting.

In the original Japanese dialogue it's more clear that Callie is making a joke and playing around with Marie and Marie freaks out a little. But Callie says "just kidding!" to ease Marie. However, in the official English translation, Marie is way more harsh and seemingly dismissive of what Callie has gone through. And Callie just goes, "Whatevs!" Like... it's pretty damn different tone wise.

The English translation makes Callie seem more like some airheaded idiot that doesn't remember what happened because "oooo brainwashing ooooo", but in the Japanese script, its more clear that Callie is being obviously snarky and cheeky towards Marie and she does remember what happened which is more in line with her character. Callie is not a dumbass, you have been fed lies. She's able to pick up on other people's emotions, especially her cousin's as she quickly says "just kidding!" to make sure Marie doesn't freak out too much and to know she's just joking around with her.

(Side note, only in the English translation do they call what Callie has gone through "brainwashing" and other characters like sanitized Agent 3 and Marina Agitando even though that's not really happened. In other languages it's always referred to as hypnosis. We don't have a fan retranslation of the Japanese dialogue for Splatoon 2 from my knowledge so i cant comment on that either unfortunately.)

Now to get to the point, It got me wondering... Does Marie have trauma or any sort of stress from Splatoon 2? And is that why she's way less snarky towards Callie in Splatoon 3 because she's terrified of Callie ever running away again and doing something irrational like joining the Octarians? From the Squid Sister Stories we can see that Marie often worries about Callie and overthinks a lot.

Even though Marie seems a lot more happy in Splatoon 3 and has matured a lot since the first game, like Splatoon 1 Marie is a different person from Splatoon 3 Marie. I think most of that maturing is out of fear and anxiety. Like you can't just brush aside your own cousin running away and the next time you see her, she's wearing some crazy outfit and is trying to murder an agent you hired to go find her in the first place. That would mess anyone up and especially someone like Marie who does have some mental troubles brewing under the surface.

I kinda wished they dived a little bit more into it but alas, we don't have a lot of stuff to go off of between Splatoon 2 and 3 as by the time the thrid game comes around Callie and Marie have matured and grown a lot in those 4 to 5 years. Which is good of course! But... I really would have liked to see Marie deal with the aftermath of those events. Maybe I'm asking too much i don't know...

[noxiatoxia]

Posting this clip early for the Komaedaologists in the room.

(Context: this is a patch I'm making for the Steam version of SDR2 that retranslates all the text to fix the abundant translation errors and to flow better in English.)

Anyways, Komaeda's intro has a number of things I had to change. I added back in Komaeda's speech patterns; his tendency to use filler words more than the other cast members. There was also one big mistranslation, where the translators mistook him as praising his luck for getting into HPA. However, it's supposed to be him praising HPA's studiousness for being the reason they wanted him in.

You may also notice Hinata has some differences in his text. By far and large, he's the character that suffers most from stiff, unnatural dialogue. This is because most of his dialogue, when translated literally, sounds this way. So for a lot of his lines, I'm capturing the essence of what he means rather than the literal words. You may also notice he swears a bit more. Japanese doesn't have "swear words" in the sense of being equivocal to English. However, Hinata speaks in a very rough, masculine manner that comes off as somewhat rude. I would compare it to someone who has no issue casually swearing in public. Hence the change. It also makes the transition between his spoken words and his deeper thoughts more apparent and humorous. Hinata has a tendency to speak like a tortured poet, for lack of a better example, when he heavily reflects on things. I'm certain this was done on purpose to be somewhat humorous, as outside of these poetic thoughts, he speaks very dryly and unambiguously.

Those are the big ones, I think. If you have specific questions or want to know the hows and whys, ask away. I'm having fun with this so far :)

[shiroganeryo]

DGM 252: New perspectives and confirmations it has given us

⚠️First of all, I'll be tagging this under DGM spoilers so if you have somehow stumbled upon this even if you're avoiding spoilers for Chapter 252 (or the most recent DGM talks as a whole), this is your warning to turn back now!

And secondly, I'm under the effect of allergy meds so please pardon me if I'm talking gibberish 😂 But the latest chapter has given us some food for thought and I've been mulling it over.

There are two points I want to cover in this post; the first one being much extensive while the other is rather short.

1. Bookman Jr.

The reveal that the guy we had thought to be Past!A all along was actually the former Bookman Jr. in one of the best twists Hoshino has given us in a while - she sounded very proud of how we were all misled by her narrative and honestly I tip my hat at her for such genius - has also fueled questions about his identity.

I'll start by saying I do not believe he and Cross are the same person. That's not what I'll be talking about so I'm playing this card right off the bat. This theory, although popular, has always had way too many gaps for my liking and after the latest chapter, the chances are practically null that it's true.

If you want a discussion as to why, this post has put it into words better than I could and I agree 100% with OP's point, hence why I don't see the need to say anything on the matter.

But there's one thing that I'm yet to see people discussing and it's about the talk Lucia had with Joe back in The 222nd Night: Searching for A.W. - Hypokrisis.

(I'm showing what I believe to be the official translated English version by Viz and there's a reason why)

For a long time, people have debated about this small exchange between Lucia and Joe. There's no doubt the one they're talking about is old man Bookman, so we can confidently affirm he's the one waiting at the Campbell Mansion.

And what about Lavi? This is where the next dialogue from Lucia comes into play:

Since this is probably the version a lot of people have read, I must make it clear that the like "Junior, his successor, isn't here" was a mistranslation. Here's the original:

Lucia: Koukeisha to naru Jr. wa mou imasen. (The one who'd become his successor, Jr, is no more.)

I've double-checked with the Brazilian Portuguese translation because it tends to be as close to the original as possible, and surely enough, it's translated correctly:

(image courtesy of the volume I own by my so-so phone camera 😋)

"Junior, who was his heir, is no more."

The literal translation for what Lucia is saying is "isn't among us anymore", but that's an expression in Portuguese that means that someone has died/doesn't walk on Earth anymore.

While the mistranslated English version and the original Japanese/Brazilian version have similar meanings, the way it's worded gives the sentence a completely different meaning: in one we're led to believe Jr. isn't physically there at the Mansion, while the other two make it clear that Jr. has died.

And that's exactly why that, after Chapter 252 dropped, this scene is given a new perspective - because Lucia was referring to the former Bookman Jr, and not the current one.

We don't know the whereabouts of current Lavi - cue in the chair jokes, I unfortunately love them all - and while I might be wrong, I have my reasons to believe he's alive.

It just doesn't feel like Hoshino to kill an important character off-screen, plus she has said we'll see him again eventually and that the mystery of what's behind his eyepatch is still to be revealed (and will only happen once Bookman passes away, something that will possibly happen before the story reaches its end).

I have the feeling Lavi still has much to contribute to the story and he's actually one of the characters that, to me, seem to have the highest odds of making it alive until the end. It also isn't mere coincidence that Bookman picked the same alias for both Juniors, since Lavi has mentioned in a discussion room that the aliases refer to their record logs and the Holy War is being recorded under 'Lavi'. There's unfinished business to be taken care of.

Using the mistranslated version to illustrate was important because I've seen people wondering where Lavi is if not in the Mansion, while others were afraid he has died. He's very likely in a predicament, but dead? I don't think so.

So that only leaves us with one viable subject for that dialogue, that being the former Bookman Jr. (now affectionately dubbed Lavi Sr. by the fandom).

"But how come they didn't know Bookman already had a new apprentice back in Chapter 222 if the Zoogles mentioned it in Chapter 251?"

Yes, it's a little odd. What I can infer from this is that they either 1. Didn't know Bookman already had a new Jr. because he had been unconscious and only after they stabilized his situation they could talk, or 2. Did know about the current Lavi but believe him not to be ready to take on the mantle yet while Lavi Sr. was (but unfortunately deserted the clan).

Since only the Bookman and his appointed apprentice, who was born with the seal, can exchange information and records via their blood, it might be not that off the chart that the Zoogles weren't up-to-date on his affairs since they're not Bookmen themselves but rather a bloodline of people scattered across the globe who are supporters of Bookman's mission like Lucia has explained. Yet, even if they aren't all-knowing, it seems odd for them not to know something as vital as that about the person they're supporting.

And of course, there's also the possibility of option 3, something else that I completely failed to consider right now. Time will tell which one.

Note: By the way, the Lucia in 222 and the Lucia in 251/252 are indeed the same person; Hoshino seemed to hint there's a reason behind her sudden aging that we don't know yet. It's important to make this clear since what I've said is related to dialogues delivered by her.

2. Past!A = current Allen

(image courtesy of Kougeki Scans' Chapter 251's translation)

There were theories around and people still considering the possibility of our current Allen being a clone and all sorts of theories because of the unexplainable age gap between him and Past!A, but it seems the deaging theory has been fully confirmed by Chapter 252, as we saw it taking place before our very eyes.

There are still some mysteries surrounding it, but seeing how Apocryphos mentioned the "Helix", we can't help but be taken back to the explanation we've previously seen about the Helix of Life (The 221st Night - The Clown's Joke).

Since that's a topic that feels like there's more to it as of now, I won't be discussing the how and why Allen deaged, especially with the unseen variable in the mix that is Innocence; who knows if that might make the Helix energy behave differently.

I was on the "deaging theory" train because Nea was able to recognize Past!A all right when he looks in the mirror (The 214th Night: Searching for A.W. - Awakening) and also questioned the presence of Innocence on his body as well as how he hadn't aged but instead had gotten younger (The 215th Night: Searching for A.W. - By Your Side).

There are many mistranslations in the official English version of these two chapters (214 and 215) that have fueled countless misconceptions within the fandom but I won't be pointing those out in this post since I'm not here this time specifically to talk about it.

Note: Mangadex seems to have nicely translated versions of these chapters if you want to check them out for a recalling - I can't confirm fully but what I read of them looked consistent and faithful to the original.

Anyways, back on track; now that we've seen what took place 35 years ago in Chapter 252, Nea's bewilderment at the current situation of Allen back in Chapter 214/215 makes a lot more sense.

And even more interesting is that as soon as he noticed the Innocence lodged into Allen's left hand, we see the image of Apocryphos, as if Nea could feel its presence. Turned out that meant more than just Apocryphos being able to resonate with all Innocence, but rather, that the very reason why that Innocence had found home in Allen's body was by its intervention.

Just what the hell, dude. That was, once again, extremely well-played on Hoshino's part. I'm really looking forward to the next chapter!

[kaizokuou-ni-naru]

One thing I learned from reading your posts is that how much puns are being used in One Piece, it really feels like most of the jokes get lost in translation or not translated at all.

it's difficult because like, most of the wordplay in one piece is untranslatable into english since it relies on sound-alike words, and japanese and english are distant enough as languages that translating jokes like that directly is generally unfeasible. like, just off the top of my head from the chapters i was reading yesterday, one of ryokugyuu's attacks is called 禁憎森々/kinniku morimori, the kanji of which translate directly as like 'hate-free forest' or 'forest without hate', which is the meaning his preceding line sets up, but the word kinniku in common use (normally written 筋肉) actually means 'muscle', so it's also 'muscle forest.' so that's a fairly surface-level pun, and it's like, how do you translate that? in english, 'hate-free' and 'muscle' are words that sound very different- there might be a specific word you can choose that would evoke both meanings, but i can't think of any off the top of my head, and translators generally work pretty quickly. and if you say like 'muscle forest without hate' or something like that, that just sounds like nonsense.

and with attack names like that, the stakes are way lower than with actual dialogue, where often important information is being conveyed. every time a line with a double meaning comes up, translators have to make choices between preserving the meaning of the line straightforwardly and conveying the joke, and the former generally takes precedent for the sake of keeping the text comprehensible. jokes are fun, but they're generally unessential compared to the other information that's being conveyed, cause the translator has to prioritize clarity.

[lithi]

This panel of Diana and Lily has different dialogue in pretty much every language lol

Korean: A narrative between the two of them is mentioned very, very briefly in the novel. I’ve always admired this beautiful friendship! But I’m going to die in vain?!

Japanese: Their story was depicted very briefly in the novel, and for a long time I've longed for such a wonderful relationship! I can't believe I'm going to die in such a vain manner!

English: In the novel, there is a very, very brief development of friendship between Athanasia and Jeannette… And I’ve always admired that beautiful friendship! But then I die in vain?!

French: Though it was brief, I always admired the friendship between Athanasia and Janet. Am I truly destined to such a miserable death?!

German: In the book there was a short storyline with the two sisters. I even admired her great relationship with each other! And now I'm supposed to die for no reason?!

And the novel goes:

« Lillian and Diana's friendship was only mentioned very briefly in the novel, but I was very impressed by it. [Athy compares Lillian and Diana’s friendship to Anne Shirley and Diane Barry’s friendship, and says she didn’t have any friends] That's why I've always admired this wonderful friendship! But in the end, Lily unnie died while siding with Athanasia. »

I think it’s strange that the English, French and German editions just, mistook Diana and Lillian for Athanasia and Jennette 💀

Thanks to @ghostieieie for giving me the third panel because I don’t have the English volume 👉🏼👈🏼

Edit: see the reblog

[jistda]

Thinking about the differences between the Japanese and English translations Descole's dialogue of this scene in particular... The Japanese version exemplifies more his pain than his anger, I think.

Have included a very rough translation

[melverie]

So I've seen some discussion about the way Mammon talks in 24-11, and how some think Asmo forced Mammon to speak this way while others think it might be because of a issue with the translation. And since I speak some Japanese, I figured I'd break down what's actually going on here

If you don't want to read through the Japanese grammar explanation, just skip to the last section, but for everyone else I'll try to break it all down. Just keep in mind that I'll simplify some things to (hopefully) make it easier to understand for those that don't speak Japanese

Right away, here's the dialogue above in the Japanese version + written in Romaji for those that can't read Japanese:

understanding sentence-ending particles

(not really relevant to Mammon's dialogue itself, but I think it'll help make the function of 「です」 ('desu') and 「ます」 ('masu') in the next section a little clearer)

Sentence-ending particles serve to indicate the overall tone a sentence is meant to have. There are a few of them and each one gives the meaning of the sentence a different nuance

The two easiest examples to understand this concept are probably the following:

the 「か」 ('ka') particle basically just a spoken question mark; turns any sentence into a proper question

the 「ね」 ('ne') particle literally functions the same way as 'isn't it'

ちょっと寒い。 ('chotto samui') -> It's a little cold.

ちょっと寒いか。 ('chotto samui ka') -> Is it a little cold?

ちょっと寒いね。 ('chotto samui ne') -> Bit cold, innit? It's a little cold, isn't it?

the auxilary verbs 「です」 ('desu') and 「ます」 ('masu')

Similarly to the sentence-ending particles, these two change the tone of the sentence and are placed at the end. Both make the sentence polite, and depending on what the sentence ends with, you use one or the other. If it ends in a verb, you add 「ます」 ('masu') at the very end, and if it ends in anything else you use 「です」 ('desu')—you cannot use both back to back

Which finally brings us back to Mammon's dialogue

As you can see, he goes a little overboard. Since 「やり直す」 ('yari naosu'; 'to redo') is a verb, the first use of 「ます」 ('masu') is correct, but everything after that is just overkill and wrong but it sounds very cute (The way Mammon speaks here actually reminds me of how half of my classmates used to speak the first few weeks of uni lol)

But yeah, it's definitely not Asmo forcing Mammon to speak differntly since all of the brothers are talking more politely. And given that they're all under Asmo's charm and serving him, it makes sense that they'd adopt a similar manner of speaking as Barbatos. It's just that Mammon is the King of Casual Speech™, dancing gracefully between 'still acceptable' and 'straight up rude' more or less gracefully at least, so obviously he'd struggle with switching to a more butler-like speech style

It's the same with Beel actually. He's usually the type to just cut straight to the point, which is why he also slightly messed up when speaking politely. To me the original Japanese version reads more like a cute little joke that's in line with both their character, that unfortunately got lost in translation since English just doesn't have an equivalent

[periwinkla]

1-4 ending JP -> ENG comparison

Keep in mind: -Notes are in small text -The / is meant to separate paragraphs (I'll use it when it gets too visually messy) Disclaimer : I only studied Japanese for a little while. AA dialogue is pretty simple though. Also English isn't my native language either. Feel free to correct me on anything wrong here. Also note that I'm not trying to make the translations sound natural, I'm mostly trying to explain what the words are saying, sometimes I'll be more literal than others. Translation =/= localization.

Phoenix 終わったな、御剣‥‥。 Owatta na, Mitsurugi... So, it's finally over, Edgeworth.

Edgeworth ‥‥‥‥‥‥ … 成歩堂。 Naruhodou. Wright.

Phoenix ん？ N? Yeah?

Edgeworth: ‥‥‥‥‥‥ … ‥‥その‥‥、 なんと言えばいいのか‥‥。 ...Sono... nan to ieba ii no ka... I… I'm not sure how to say this.

Maya そういうときはね。 “ありがとう”って言うんだよ！ Sou iu toki wa ne. "Arigatou" tte iun da yo! I know! I know! Try "thank you."

Edgeworth そ、そうなのか。 So, Sou na no ka. I… I see.

‥‥‥‥‥‥ …

あ、ありがとう、成歩堂。 A, Arigatou, Naruhodou. Th-thank you, Wright.

Phoenix ど、どういたしまして。 Do, douitashimashite. Y-you're welcome. They sound fairly stiff here. Phoenix's response isn't exactly formal by Japanese standards... I'd say it's casual/formal, but the stuttering makes it stiffer, I feel. Also compared to how they behave in 3-5, I think it's very different. Will elaborate in a future post when I get to analyze that dialogue.

Maya うーん‥‥イマイチ、 ハリアイがないなあ‥‥。 Uun... imaichi, hariai ga nai naa.. I think you could have done better than that!

Edgeworth ム‥‥スマン。 こういうの、ニガテで‥‥。 Mu... Suman. Kouiu no, nigate de... Oof! S-sorry… I'm not good at this sort of thing.

Maya もう！　ダメだなあ、御剣検事は。 Mou! Dame da naa, Mitsurugi Kenji wa. You got a lot to learn, Edgeworth!

Phoenix （‥‥やれやれ‥‥） (...Yareyare...) (Dear, dear…) (this is not at all important but I noticed it's an expression Phoenix uses a lot: yare yare...)

Gumshoe うおおおおおおおおおおおおおっ！ Uoooooooooooooh! Whoooooooooooooop!

さすがッス！　自分が見込んだ だけのコトはあったッス！ Sasuga ssu! Jibun ga mikonda dake no koto wa atta ssu! Amazing, pal! You pulled through just like I thought you would!

糸鋸　圭介。この恩は一生、 わすれないッス！ Itonoko Keisuke. Kono on wa isshou, wasurenai ssu! I'll never forget this! I owe you one, pal.

今夜は、パーッとやるッス！ 自分がゴチソウするッス！ Kon'ya wa, paa tto yaru ssu! Jibun ga gochisou suru ssu! And tonight, let's party! Dinner's on me!

今月から給料がちょっぴり 下がったッスが、気にしねッス！ Kongetsu kara kyuuryou ga choppiri sagatta ssu ga, ki ni shine ssu! Yeah, my salary went down a bit this month… But who cares!

Maya ほらほらほら、御剣検事。 イトノコ刑事を見ならうの！ Hora hora hora, Mitsurugi Kenji. Itonoko Keiji wo minarau no! See, Mr. Edgeworth? You should take a lesson from Detective Gumshoe!

あんな感じにやると、カンシャの キモチが伝わるんだよ！ Anna kanji ni yaru to, kansha no kimochi ga tsutawarun da yo! That's how you say "thank you"!

Edgeworth ‥‥ム。 な‥‥なるほど。 ...Mu. Na.... Naruhodo. Mmm. I… I see. Note how he basically says Wright's butchered JP name, which is a pun for the game (it means 'I see' / 'I understand') but it also means that the gap between them is somewhat getting narrower. It could just be for comic relief, but...note that when he attempts to thank him the first time, he calls out to him with 'Naruhodou', but now on his second attempt he says 'Naruhodo' before trying to thank him. Unfortunately the subtletly and ambiguity of this cannot be localized. By the way, he also uses 'Naruhodo' before the final trial in T&T, will elaborate on in at a later date. (I don't know whether there are other times other than these two, I haven't analyzed enough transcripts yet)

コホン。 Gohon. ahem

う、うおおおおおおおおおっ！ U, Uooooooooh! Whooooooooooooop! This is, and I'm completely serious here, one of my most favourite scenes. Note the difference between Edgeworth's and Gumshoe's shouts: in the JP, 4 'O's are missing in Edgeworth's shout, while in ENG, 1 'O' is missing - the localization was careful enough to add that tiny difference, and although I am not sure why they reduced it to one single 'O', it's still interesting they differentiated them all the same.

‥‥‥‥‥‥ …

ダメだ。‥‥ヤッパリ、 私なんか‥‥。 Dame da. ...Yappari, Watashi nanka... I… I feel foolish. literal translation: No, that's not right. As I thought, / someone like me... *'someone like me...' : the underlying message seems to be: 'As I thought, something like this/acting like this wouldn't fit someone like me'

Maya まあまあ、少しずつ 慣れていきましょうよ。 Maa maa, sukoshi zutsu narete ikimashou yo. Don't worry. Take it a little at a time. You'll get used to it.

more literal translation: Come on, come on, little by little / let's get used to it! It seems to me Maya says it in a way to mean something like they'll do it together, so he shouldn't worry - implying he's not alone (anymore), again Japanese can be subtle so I'm not sure, but considering Maya's empathic character, I'd say that's what she meant. In any case, she's trying to encourage him. Very sweet! Phoenix （こんなスナオな御剣を 　見るの、１５年ぶりだな‥‥） (Konna sunao na Mitsurugi o miru no, juugo-nen buri da na...) (It's been fifteen years since I've seen Edgeworth this… unguarded.)

more literal translation: It's been 15 years... since I've seen Edgeworth (act) this honest (with his feelings)... Phoenix is saying that it's been a long time since he's seen Edgeworth be honest/sincere with his feelings/upfront with his feelings. The localization gets the meaning across very nicely. Lotta おっ、いたいた！ O, ita ita! Hey, y'all!

Maya あ、ナツミさん！ A, Natsumi-san! Lotta!

Lotta いやー、アンタら。 カッコよかったでー。 Iya, antara. Kakkoyokatta de. Y'all were great in there!

Phoenix ありがとうございます。 Arigatou gozaimasu. Thank you!

Lotta おッ。ニイちゃん。 無罪、おめでと！ Oo, Niichan. Muzai, omedetou! Yo, Edgeworth! Congrats!

Edgeworth ム‥‥お、おおきに。 Mu... o, ookini. Er… thank y'all very much. ookini = 'thank you a lot' in Kansai dialect (which is the dialect Lotta uses) I find it adorably funny that first he tries to imitate Gumshoe to thank people and now he's trying Lotta's ways...

Lotta ウチには、最初から わかってたんやで！ Uchi ni wa, saisho kara wakattetan ya de! I knew you were innocent from the start, of course.

あんたが無罪だ、ってなあ！ Anta ga muzai da, tte naa! Just look at you! You wouldn't stick your hand in the cookie jar even if no one was there! The ENG adds a lot here which wasn't in the original. in the JP, she basically only says: 'From the start, / I knew! / That you were innocent!!' (I think this is mostly done to convey Lotta's character, since the dialect wouldn't have been enough here to convey that I believe)

Edgeworth ‥‥たしか、初日の 検察側の証人だったような‥‥。 ...Tashika, shonichi no kensatsu-gawa no shounin datta you na... You… were the witness on the first day of the trial, weren't you.

Lotta まま。まあまあ。 細かいこと、気にしなさんな！ Ma ma. Maa maa. Komakai koto, ki ni shinasan na! Yeah, well, let bygones be bygones, eh?

Phoenix そういえば、ナツミさん‥‥、 今は、何を‥‥？ Sou ieba, Natsumi-san..., Ima wa, nani o...? Speaking of which, what are you doing now, Lotta?

Lotta おー、今か？ 大学にもどったで。 Oo, ima ka? Daigaku ni modotta de. Who, me? Aww, I went back to college.

スクープカメラマンになる夢は、 もうオシマイや。 Sukūpu kameraman ni naru yume wa, mō oshimai ya. I gave up trying to be an investigative photographer pretty quick.

Phoenix そうなんですか‥‥。 Sou nan desu ka... Really? That's too bad.

Lotta あれ？ Are? Huh?

Phoenix ？ ?

Lotta あそこにいるの、公園の マンジュウ屋、ちゃうか？ Asoko ni iru no, kōen no manjū-ya, chau ka? Isn't that the hotdog guy from the park?

Phoenix ‥‥え？ ...E? Huh?

Larry ‥‥死ぬんだぁ‥‥。 ...Shinun daa... It's over, Nick! My life is over!

Phoenix な、なんでおまえが そんなカオしてるんだよ！ Na, nande omae ga sonna kao shiteru nda yo! Wh-why the sad face, Larry!? What happened now!?

Larry 成歩堂ぉ‥‥。 オレ、そろそろ死ぬからさぁ。 Naruhodouo... Ore, sorosoro shinu kara saa. Oh, Nick… I'm not long for this world. (Just funny how he drags Naruhodou's name out in a wail here.)

Phoenix い、いやいやいや。 I, iya iya iya. Uh… you don't look sick… literally like 'n, nonono' but meaning something more like 'wa, wait wait wait' - it sounds like he's about done with Larry's histrionics and possibly shaking his head in denial...

Larry カズミがよお‥‥パリ 暮らすって言い出して‥‥、 Kazumi ga yoo...Pari kurasu tte iidashite... It's Kiyance! Sh-she's goin' to live in Paris! Paris, Nick!

置いていかれちまったんだよぉぉ！ Oiteikarechimattan da yooo! She's leaving me behind!!!

Phoenix （‥‥やれやれ‥‥） (...Yare yare...) (Larry, Larry…) I noticed Phoenix uses this expression a lot. It's quite funny to me, reminds me of an old man that is about done with his youngings' shenanigans.

Larry お。御剣。いたのか。 O. Mitsurugi. Ita no ka. Yo, Edgey! There you are!

Edgeworth ム。そりゃまあ、いる。 Mu. Sorya maa, iru. Um, yes, here I am.

Larry おめでとうな、御剣。 ‥‥コレ、オレからのお祝い！ Omedetou na, Mitsurugi. ...Kore, ore kara no oiwai! Congrats, Edgey! Here… a little gift from me in celebration!

Edgeworth “お祝い”？　‥‥めずらしいな。 "Oiwai"? ...Mezurashii na. Celebration? That's unusual for you.

Gumshoe お。アンタも後で来るッス！ ゴチソウするッス！ O. Anta mo ato de kuru ssu! Gochisou suru ssu! Harry Butz! You come along tonight too! My treat, pal!

Larry は、はあ。 楽しみにしてます。 Ha, haa. Tanoshiminishitemasu. Huh? Uh… thanks! Looking forward to it! （オイ、成歩堂） (Oi, Naruhodou) (Yo, yo, Nick!)

（アイツ、オレを取り調べした 　刑事だぜ‥‥） (Aitsu, ore o toriirabeshita keiji da ze...) (That's the suit that questioned me!)

（ゴチソウって、まさか 　カツ丼じゃねえだろうな‥‥） (Gochisōtte, masaka katsudon ja nee darou na...) (When he says treat… that's not police-talk for prison food, right? Right?)

Phoenix そ、それはないと思うぞ。 So, sore wa nai to omou zo. Uh, I think you'll be fine, Larry.

Edgeworth ‥‥成歩堂。 ...Naruhodou. Wright…

Phoenix ん？　どうした？ N? Doushita? Yeah? What's up?

Edgeworth ‥‥金が入っているぞ。 矢張がくれた封筒。 ...Kane ga haitte iru zo. Yahari ga kureta fūtō. That envelope that Larry gave me. It's got money in it.

Phoenix そりゃそうだろ。 “お祝い”だからな。 Sorya sou daro. "Oiwai" dakara na. Well, yeah. That's not that strange. People give money away to celebrate sometimes.

Edgeworth ３８００円だ。 3800 en da. It's $38.00, Wright.

Phoenix ‥‥また、ずいぶんハンパな 金額だな‥‥。 ...Mata, zuibun hanpa na kingaku da na... Huh. What a weird amount. I mean, it's not a little, but it's not a lot either.

‥‥‥‥‥‥ …

３８００円？ 3800 en? $38.00 exactly?

Maya ‥‥ななな、なるほどくん！ ...Na na na, Naruhodo-kun! N-N-Nick!

小学校のころ、御剣検事が盗まれた 給食費って、たしか‥‥！ Shōgakkō no koro, Mitsurugi-Kenji ga nusumareta kyūshoku-hi tte, tashika...! Wasn't that exactly the amount of lunch money that was stolen from Mr. Edgeworth in school!?

Phoenix さ‥‥３８００円‥‥？ Sa... 3800 en...? $38…!

ままま、まさか‥‥ Ma ma ma, masaka.... No… (I think the shock-induced stuttering in this line might be meant to parallel Maya's previous one. Cute!)

‥‥‥‥まさかああああッ！ 矢張、お前ェェェェッ！ ...Masakaaaaa! Yahari, omaeeee! No!!! Larry, it was you!!! There is a fun pun lost in translation here. Larry's JP name, Yahari, means 'after all/as expected/as I thought' - so Larry's name can be intended both as a vocative and a figure of speech here. "After all, it was you!" = "Larry, it was you!" The phrases basically overlap in JP, as if he were saying them at the same time.

Edgeworth 何をイロめきたっている？ 成歩堂。 Nani o iromekitatte iru? Naruhodou. What are you so surprised about, Wright?

Phoenix え？ E? Huh?

Edgeworth たしかに矢張は、あの日 カゼで学校を休んでいた。 Tashika ni Yahari wa, ano hi Kaze de gakkou wo yasunde ita. Larry was absent that day from school, right?

だが、だからといって 犯人でないという理由にはならん。 Daga, dakara to itte hannin de nai to iu riyuu ni wa naran. But that doesn't automatically rule him out as a suspect.

Phoenix え！ What?

Edgeworth １５年前の、あの日。 15 nen mae no, ano hi. Think back to that day, fifteen years ago.

休んだはいいが、タイクツだった 矢張は、学校に来てみたのだろう。 Yasunda hai ga, taikutsu datta Yahari wa, gakkou ni kite mita no darou. Larry took the day off, but he was bored, he came in to school anyway.

そして、まあ‥‥、ちょっと 手が伸びてしまったんだろうな。 Soshite, maa..., chotto te ga nobite shimatta ndarou na. Then he saw the money lying there… and the rest is history.

Larry 伸びちまったんだろうねえ、 イヤハヤ、これが‥‥。 Nobichimattan darou nee, iyahaya, kore ga... I never was good at History! Heh… The joke is a bit different here, Edgeworth jokes that Larry's hand must have 'stretched out' , but I suppose 'slipped' is more apt. And Larry is like 'Yeah, guess it must have slipped!' The translation would be something like: Edgeworth: And, well, / his hand must have ended up slipping (must have slipped). Larry: Yeah, guess it must have slipped, / eheh, well...

Phoenix ‥‥‥‥‥‥ …

御剣‥‥まさかお前、 ‥‥知ってたのか？ Mitsurugi... Masaka omae, ...Shitteta no ka? Edgeworth… you didn't know, did you?

Edgeworth ‥‥アヤシイとは思っていた。 ...Ayashii to wa omotteita. I suspected.

literal translation: I thought it was suspicious. (I find it endearing that he suspected but didn't say anything - despite how he acts, Edgeworth is really a softie most times, even towards Larry who he has the rightful urge to murder more often than not) いつもの矢張なら、 お前をかばうのはオカシイ。 Itsumo no Yahari nara, Omae o kabau no wa okashii. I just couldn't picture Larry protecting you like he did that day.

みんなといっしょになって、 ここぞとばかり責めたてただろう。 Minna to issho ni natte, Kokozo to bakari semetate daro. Everyone else was saying you did it. The whole class was against you, remember?

Phoenix ‥‥うむむむむ。 ... Umumumumu. Yeah… too well. Phoenix's blabbering is hilarious here. He's in utter denial. Like he's nodding at what he's saying but he's refusing the knowledge to enter his brain.

Edgeworth 成歩堂。もしかしたら お前は知らないかもしれないが、 Naruhodou. Moshikashitara Omae wa shiranai kamoshirenai ga, Wright, you may not know this, but we used to have a saying back in school.

この男は、こう言われていたんだ。 “事件のカゲにヤッパリ矢張”と。 Kono otoko wa, kou iwarete ita nda. "Jiken no kage ni yappari Yabari" to. "When something smells, it's usually the Butz." The saying actually means : 'In the shadow of an incident/trouble, after all, there is Larry' There is the usual pun 'yappari Yahari' so I think the localization of the saying and his name was done very well to render the original meaning.

Phoenix そのコトバなら、イヤというほど 思い知らされてるよ！ Sono kotoba nara, iya to iu hodo omoishirasa reteru yo! I know, I know. I would translate this more to: 'If you're saying that, why didn't you tell me!'

Edgeworth ‥‥いやあ、成歩堂。まさか、 キミが気づいていなかったとは。 ...Iyaa, Naruhodou. Masaka, Kimi ga kizuite inakatta to wa. Really, Wright. I'm surprised you didn't figure it out! '...Why, Wright. It can't be, / you hadn't realized.' This is so funny to me, in both versions. In JP it sounds a bit more teasing and cocky, but still. It sounds like to Edgeworth, shouting objection and reprimanding his classmates and teacher as a 9 year old was no big deal. So he didn't care to mention, thought Phoenix would figure it out. If not, no big deal. To Phoenix, it was life-changing. Phoenix is having a (mid) life crisis.

Larry 意外だねこりゃあ。 Igai da ne koryaa. Well, this is sure an unexpected turn of events, eh?

Phoenix ‥‥御剣。 ... Mitsurugi. Edgeworth…

Edgeworth ん？ N? Hmm?

Phoenix 言えよ！ Ieyo! You should have told me! Here it may look like a whole different thing but it's mostly that there is no other natural way to translate this. 'Ieyo' is just the imperative of the verb 'ieru', 'to tell'. It kinda gives the feeling of 'But (then) tell me, dammit!'

Maya まあまあ、なるほどくん。 もう１５年前のコトでしょ？ Maa maa, Naruhodo-kun. Mou juugo-nen mae no koto desho? Now, now, Nick. It was fifteen years ago!

これって“じこう”ってヤツ だよね？　御剣検事。 Kore tte "jikou" tte yatsu da yo ne? Mitsurugi Kenji. Don't you think the "statute of limitations" has run out, Mr. Edgeworth?

Edgeworth そういうこと、だな。 Souiu koto, da na. I'd say so, yes.

Larry そういうことだよ。 Souiu koto da yo. There you have it! In JP version, I found it funny how Larry parrots Edgeworth's words. 'Souiu koto' means 'it's like that'.

Phoenix ‥‥まったく‥‥。 ...Mattaku,,, Grr…

お前らにカンシャして弁護士に なったぼくの立場はどうなるんだ？ Omaera ni kansha shite bengoshi ni natta boku no tachiba wa dou narun da? Where does that leave me!? I became a defense attorney because of what you two did!

Edgeworth 感動的なまでのお人よし、 といったところだろうか。 Kandō-teki na made no o-hito yoshi, to itta tokoro darou ka. Well, I'd call you a goody-two-shoes to the extreme.

Larry とんだお調子モノ、とも 言えるよナ！ Tonda o-chōshimono, tomo ieru yo na! Yeah! And you get worked up too easily, too!

Phoenix し、死刑だ！ コイツを死刑にしてくれェッ！ Shi, shikei da! Koitsu o shikei ni shite kuree! D-death! The death sentence for both of you!

‥‥こんなことなら、 検事になりゃよかったあ！ ...Konna koto nara, kenji ni narya yokattaa! Man, if I only had known, I'd have become a prosecutor!

Edgeworth ‥‥それは私も同じだ。 ...Sore wa watashi mo onaji da. The same goes for me, only the other way around…

“もしかしたら、自分は父親を 撃ってしまったのかもしれない” "Moshikashitara, jibun wa chichioya o utte shimatta no kamoshirenai" For the longest time, I thought that I might have killed my own father. These are provided as literal phrases he thought: 'Could it be, I myself was the one that ended up shooting my father.'

“自分は罪人かもしれない” "Jibun wa zainin kamoshirenai" I thought I might be a criminal. "What if I'm a criminal, myself.'

‥‥私は、そういう自分を 罰する意味もあって検事になった。 …Watashi wa, sou iu jibun o batsu suru imi mo atte kenji ni natta. I became a prosecutor in part to punish myself.

Basically the same, but instead of saying 'in part' he says that was one of the reasons. He says he became a prosecutor for that reason as well (among others), the reason being that of punishing himself. ‥‥こんなことなら、 弁護士になりたかったよ。 ...Konna koto nara, bengoshi ni naritakatta yo. If I had known the truth, I might have become a defense attorney after all. 'If it were like this (if I had known), I would have wished to become a defense attorney.' The way he says it seems way more heartbreaking in Japanese. Naritakatta = wanted to become, which here becomes 'I would have wanted to become' because of context. I translated it as 'would have wished' because it seems more apt here. Naritakatta expresses a desire for something you had wanted in the past. 'I would have gone for being a defense attorney'... It indicates that someone wanted to become or achieve something at some point in the past, but for some reason, they were not able to fulfill that desire.

Phoenix ‥‥御剣。 ... Mitsurugi. Edgeworth…

Edgeworth かわるか、成歩堂。 Kawaru ka, Naruhodou. Want to switch, Wright? Says the same thing... and it sounds so resigned in both versions. It's curt, and their conversation ends just like that. Breaks my heart.

[yuurei20]

Thank you so much for your translations as always! I was wondering, when the tweels talk about each other -- I know that they don't use the normal age specific brother words like older brother/younger brother -- do they use the more neutral 兄弟/kyoudai? Or is there another word for brother that doesn't have age attached? Do they use 双子/futago for themselves or just brother/sibling?

Thanks!

Hello hello! Thank you for this question! 🐬🦈

I have never been able to answer this in a satisfactory way 💦 I will do my best!

Jade and Floyd call each other, exclusively, by their first names!

("Bro" and "brother" will sometimes be added to their EN dialogue, but those are words they have never actually said.)

This is because neither twin is older than the other and, as you point out, there isn't really a word for just "brother" in the Japanese language that does not insinuate age, with even twins differentiating between who was born first and who was born second, as that is just how the language is set up.

You might say that there are kind of two genres of words for "sibling" (and its variations) in the Japanese language:

Calling: The kind you use in place of your sibling's name

Describing: The kind you use just to describe how you are related to one another

Ortho is an excellent example of the "calling" pattern: he does not call Idia by name, only by "Nii-san" for "older brother."

On EN this has been localized as "Idia," because that is the American-English-language equivalent of what Ortho is doing: calling Idia.

(This is aspect of their relationship is so important that it comes up directly in Book 6, when Ortho is dismissed from his role of Idia's younger brother and actually does call him "Idia-san," for possibly the first time in his life. More here.)

In English this would be the equivalent of refusing to call your older brother anything but "older brother," even when he is not in the room and you are talking to an unrelated person.

Other examples in the game of the "calling" pattern are Najma and Leona, who use "onii-chan" and "aniki" (respectively) for their older brothers in sentences that would, in English, exchange those words for their siblings' names.

And an important moment in Jack and Ruggie's relationship is a line where Jack asks permission to call Ruggie "aniki"!

If Ruggie had said yes, Jack would have started calling him "aniki" in the same way as Ortho calls Idia "nii-san."

Then there is the "describing" pattern: words like kyoudai (siblings), otouto (little brother), etc.

These words are closer to their English-language equivalents in that they are used to describe familial relationships, but not used in place of your sibling's name.

Idia will describe his and Ortho's relationship by saying that they are "kyoudai" or "he is my otouto," for example, but grammatically he is not substituting Ortho's name with those words--he calls Ortho, Ortho.

"Calling" pattern words (nii-san, etc.) do double duty in this way: you can both say "He is my nii-san" and replace your brother's name with "nii-san," but whereas you can say "We are kyoudai," you would not replace your sibling's name with "kyoudai." The rules are different!

(Note: this is for everyday conversation! Japanese is a very flexible language and grammar is often played with in places like certain yakuza-based media franchises.)

And another word that falls into the "describing" pattern? "Futago," for twin!

Jade and Floyd can and do describe one another as "futago" or "kyoudai", but when they talk to/about each other as individuals they call each other by name.

To summarize:

Jade and Floyd describe each other as kyoudai, but do not call each other kyoudai

Jade and Floyd describe each other as futago, but do not call each other futago

Jade and Floyd do not describe or call each other ototuo or onii-san or any variation thereof

Jade and Floyd call each other by their first names, exclusively

I hope this helps! m(_ _)m

[todomitoukei]

I went through the old chapters where Dabi and Ujiko are included to take a deeper look at the relationship between these two.

Did you translate the conversations between the two of them into chapters 221 and 222?

I find the way Ujiko speaks to Dabi in the English translation strange. I'm curious if that's really how he expressed himself in Japanese. If I remember correctly, it seems to me that you translated a line of Ujiko's related to Dabi and it sounded less strange than in the English version. That one with "Dabi, you've got sharp eyes!" or smth like this

Hi there!

I only translated that specific line way back when Ujiko and AFO being involved in Touya's backstory was just a theory (long time ago).

I also did a translation of chapter 350, where Ujiko tells us that part of Touya's backstory, which also features a short conversation between the two.

Going back to chapter 221 and 222, here's a breakdown of the parts before the "good eye", starting with this part in chapter 221 (the first two speech bubbles can be found in the other post I linked above)

「そうじゃ違うんじゃこの子らは中位下位とは違うじゃよ～

最上位（ハイエンド）じゃよ

より「マスターピース」に近付いたスーパー脳無じゃ！

凄いじゃろうこれまでとは違うんじゃよ！！！」

「そう ; sou 」 = so 「じゃ ; ja 」 = to be 「違う ; chigau 」 = different 「んじゃ ; nja 」 = explanatory particle 「この ; kono 」 = this 「子ら ; kora 」 = children 「は ; wa 」 = topic particle 「中位下位 ; chuuikai 」 = middle class, lower class 「とは ; to wa 」 = quotation particle 「違う ; chigau 」 = different 「じゃ ; ja 」 = to be 「よ ; yo 」 = emphasis particle 「最上位 (ハイエンド) ; haiendo 」 = High End (the kanji mean the most upper class) 「じゃ ; ja 」 = to be 「よ ; yo 」 = emphasis particle 「より ; yori 」 = than 「マスターピース ; masutaapiisu 」 = master piece 「に ; ni 」 = directional particle 「近付いた ; chikazuita 」 = approached 「スーパー脳無 ; suupaa noumu 」 = super nomu 「じゃ ; ja 」 = to be 「凄い ; sugoi 」 = amazing 「じゃろう ; jarou 」 = right 「これまで ; kore made 」 = until this 「とは ; to wa 」 = quotation particle 「違う ; chigau 」 = different 「んじゃ ; nja 」 = explanatory particle 「よ ; yo 」 = emphasis particle

＝"That's right, they're different. These kids are different from the middle and lower class ones~ It's a High End (top tier). It's a Super Nomu, close to a masterpiece! Amazing, right? It's different from anything up until now!!!"

You best believe he chose the word masterpiece to piss off Touya here on purpose. Unfortunately, and maybe on purpose, we never get shown Touya's facial reaction to that, and he most likely played it cool on the outside, while on the inside wanting to set the whole place on fire.

The next little bit of dialogue between the two occurs in chapter 222:

「ならば荼毘にはハイエンドのテストに協力してほしいのう！！

趣味が！！審美眼がとても合う！！接しやすい！！」

「ならば ; naraba 」 = in case; as for 「荼毘 ; dabi 」 = Dabi 「には ; ni wa 」 = directional particle 「ハイエンド ; haiendo 」 = High Ends 「の ; no 」 = possession particle 「テスト ; tesuto 」 = test 「に ; ni 」 = directional particle 「協力 ; kyouryoku 」 = cooperation 「してほしい ; shitehoshii 」 = want you to do 「のう ; nou 」 = explanatory particle (adds emphasis) 「趣味 ; shumi 」 = preference; liking; taste 「が ; ga 」 subject particle 「審美眼 ; shinbigan 」 = aesthetic sense; sense of beauty 「��� ; ga 」 subject particle 「とても ; totemo 」 = very 「合う ; au 」 = to fit/match 「接しやすい ; sesshiyasui 」 = easy to deal with/attend to

= "As for Dabi, I want you to test out the High End for me!! (Good) taste!! Your aesthetic sense matches a lot!! It will be easy for you to deal with it!!"

Obviously, in retrospect, knowing that Ujiko would have turned Touya into a nomu too, the "matching aesthetic sense" line feels even more rude now.

And finally Touya's response:

「話聞いてンのか」

「話 ; hanashi 」 = story 聞いてン ; kiiten 」 = to listen 「のか ; noka 」 = question particle

= "Are you listen to my story?"

The 'story' being him just a second prior to this having said he will go off on his own since he is in the middle of recruiting someone (don't do it!).

[tsintotwo]

Happy Tom at the Osaka Comic-Con.

Quick recap of the panel: He got there from NY the previous night, dove headfirst into Japanese food first thing (had taco wasabi- literally raw octpus- and chicken neck). His fav ice cream flavor is vanilla ('keep it pure')- without any topping on a cone. One of his fav Sandman dialogues is 'I am hope', his fav Dream-Hob era is Elizabethan (we knew this). To build the Sandman figure, 'you eat nothing and work out like you're about to play Thor'. He would never choose between theatre and TV, and if he were a DJ like Carl was in The Boat That Rocked, he would leave the music to people who understood it better than him and air conversations with people he cares about on why they make the things they make. His birthday is Dec 5, 1985. Why is it different on different websites? No clue, no one ever asked him.

I want to say something. This was a 25 minute panel. On the stage, there were three men on his right, one woman on his left. The men read out fan questions in Japanese, the woman translated them to English. Tom answered. The woman translated it back. The men would then exchange a few words among themselves, and/or have something to say to Tom based on his answer which the woman again translated for Tom.

In all this, Tom was extraordinarily attentive and engaged. Of course he gave fun and/or thoughtful answeres to the questions like he always does. But beyond that- whenever Japanese was being spoken, he looked at the speaker and listened, even though he didn't understand a single word. Tom's most common listening expression is the pinched-lipped pout, and in lots other interviews/cons you can see him listening but not loooking at the person speaking. Here, he made a point of looking at them. He nodded and smiled based on their gestures and expressions. He rarely took his eyes off them or lost focus. I posted a clip of him looking confused earlier- that was one of the one/two times that happened. And once he got the idea of how it was working, if his answers were long, he started pausing in the middle to give the translator a chance to take it by pieces. He made sure she understood what he was saying. He didn't stare into space or look impatient when other people on the stage were having a small convo within themselves.

I actually never spent time looking at celeb things like comic-cons before. So maybe this is the norm, and most of the men and women we see on screen are amazing at these events and just great people in general. I have no context. But I just know as someone who frequently gets lost into her own head even in engaging environments, being this dedicated to a space and situation that can't be made completely inclusive probably wouldn't be possible. My attention would get loose, and/or I would decide it's less awkward if I don't engage when they aren't speaking a language I know. But Tom made it seem easy and smooth for himself.

I love Tom, yeah, we all do, but this sort of stuff just gives me so much respect and appreciation for him as an individual. I know fans like to yassify him based on things like his smol-bean/cinnamon roll energy, and while that's cute, it sometimes has the risk of making a person's image into that of a man-child. He isn't that, though. Shy and (sometimes) awkward as he is, this is a very intelligent man, emotionally and intellectually, and I love to see it come through.

[hurpdurpburps]

A Casual Comparison Between The English vs Japanese (and a bit of Chinese) Versions Of Otherside Picnic

Just a ramble on my thoughts as someone who buys and reads both the English and Japanese versions of all the novel and the manga volumes.

Some of my commentary might come across as a bit too pedantic but it's coming from my thoughts as a current formal translator and former manga scanlator.

Spoiler Warning: events up to Vol 8 are mentioned.

Overall thoughts

Generally, I quite like Sean McCann's translations of the novels. I think his style strikes a nice balance between the need for needle-sharp accuracy and smoothness that localisation brings. He seems to have quite a mind-boggling amount of experience under his belt according to Kindle, and also translated Side-By-Side Dreamers (another fantastic read that I will fangirl here about one day!!!), which is a standalone novel by Miyazawa.

On the other hand, the English version of the manga feels rather clunky from time-to-time. Kindle doesn't credit anyone for the English translation of the manga and I don't think it's McCann. Redrawing is also pretty lazy, with English words often simply slapped on next to the original Japanese SFX, which is kinda terrible for an official publication.

Another aspect of the English manga I don't understand is why they chose to flip the reading sequence of the Kozakura POV short stories at the end. After reading through dozens of pages of the manga right-to-left I don't think it's any more difficult to read the story in the same direction. Having to skip to the very last page then resume reading left-to-right in reverse page order is so mindbogglingly tedious and unintuitive.

Dialogue, Nuances and Characterisation

A big issue with translation is the difference in how many words it takes to convey the same sentence in different languages. Extreme cases can call for bolder deviations from the original to maintain some semblance of narrative flow.

Here's a minor example - the following lines are from Vol 3 (File 9 - Yamanoke Presence), when Toriko is slapping the shit out of Sorawo's back:

“Ow! That hurts! [1]” “Suck it up. [2]”

「いった！　痛いって！ [1]」 「我慢して [2]」 　

The more literal translation of [1] would be "I said that hurts!" but I guess the translator opted for something that's shorter and more natural-sounding.

There's also the issue of characterisation stemming from dialogue style. Sometimes I feel like Toriko comes across as slightly more aggressive in English than the original Japanese version.

[2] in Japanese is simply and most accurately translated as "bear with it."

There's a similar scene in Vol 6 (File 20 - T is for Templeborn), when Toriko sticks her fingers inside Sorawo's right eye:

“Whoa! Hold up! That’s my eye!” “Suck it up.” “You’re kidding me, right?!”

「ちょ、ま、そこ目！」 「我慢して」 「噓でしょ!?」

Personally, I feel that "suck it up" should've only been used if the original text said "我慢しろ", which implies a more callous or harsher, commanding tone. To me at least, "我慢して" is pretty neutral.

Here's another example from Vol 6, when Sorawo begrudgingly compliments Toriko for having a pretty smart idea:

“Why do you always sound so frustrated when you compliment me on that, Sorawo? [1]” “Urgh.” I hadn’t expected her to call me out on that, so I didn’t know how to respond. “Well, I’m nice [2], so I won’t get mad at you for thinking I’m an idiot.”

「その褒め方するとき、いつもなんか悔しそうだよね空魚 [1]」 「うっ」 　思わぬ指摘をされて言葉に詰まる。 「鳥子さんは優しいから [2]、バカだと思われてても怒りませんけど」

[1] is more of an observation and not a question in Japanese. "You always look kind of frustrated when you compliment me like that, Sorawo" feels perfectly serviceable and fits with the line that comes next, so I'm not quite sure about the reason behind this translation decision.

As for [2], Toriko actually referred to herself in third-person ("Toriko-san is kind") in the Japanese version, which is supposed to a convey a sense of satirical self-grandiosity. Without that part, I think Toriko comes off as more direct and less playful in the English translation.

That said, there are also positive examples of localisation in the series. Take a look at this conversation from Vol 5 (File 16 - Pontianak Hotel):

“Why would they go to all the trouble of decking the place out in Balinese style, then go and push honey toast, of all things?” I asked, but Toriko had a simple answer. “It’s honey in Bali [1], right?” “Wait… That’s it?! Because they rhyme?! [2]”

「なんでこんなにバリ島モチーフなのに、フードはハニートースト推しなんだろ」 　 私が何の気なしに疑問を口にすると、鳥子がさらっと言った。 「バリ島でハニトー [1]ってことなんじゃない？」 「……えっ、そういうこと!?　駄洒落!? [2]」

[1] actually says "Honey toast in Bali", which can be romanised as "bari-tou de hani-tou". Sorta catchy in Japanese but doesn't swing in English, so the rationale for the change is fairly obvious.

[2] literally means "pun", or I guess it's supposed to be slightly more loosely interpreted as "wordplay" in this context, but that too has to be altered so that the earlier changes to [1] make sense.

We opened all the bottles and had another toast of the not-bread variety [1]; there was a loud clinking of bottles [2].

ビール組の小瓶の栓が全部抜かれて、改めて乾杯した [1]。グラスと瓶の触れ合う音が高らかに鳴り響く [2]。

[1] can be read as "we made a toast for a change", which without alteration can be fairly confusing so the translator seized the opportunity to add a little funny spin to it.

A more literal translation of [2] would be "The sound of glasses and bottles touching rang loudly". I suppose the localisation here could be considered as a minor but factual mistranslation, as cocktail glasses were actually present in this scene, in addition to beer bottles.

For our final example of missing nuance, here's a quick glance at Vol 6 (File 20 - T is for Templeborn), where Sorawo and Toriko went for a quick builder's lunch after a morning of breaking concrete:

Settling on a place that served Western-style dishes, we joined the salarymen and construction workers for a hearty meal.

あんまり気取らない感じの洋食屋を選んで、スーツ姿のサラリーマンや工事の作業員に交ざって、がっつりボリュームのある定食を食べた。

The bolded part roughly translates to "We chose a rather unpretentious Western restaurant...", with "unpretentious" in this context referring to a place that doesn't feel very conscious/fussy about attire/appearances.

I don't think it's a big deal per se, but it's the inclusion of small details like that which adds flourish to Miyazawa's writing, and it's kind of a pity for them to be missing when they don't have to be.

Prose and Structure

Japanese is a high-context language, so writers often take it for granted that their readers can intuitively grasp who's saying what, which is not very helpful for English readers. There are certain parts of the Japanese version that is just a whole dozen lines of uninterrupted dialogue. The text below from Vol 5 (File 16 - Pontianak Hotel) is a very good example:

“Phew… Toriko, did you eat your share?” I asked. “Yeah, I sure did. It was delicious.” “Is that really true…?” “She does seem to be putting on an awfully calm face,” Akari agreed. “I feel like she was just eating the ice cream on top,” Kozakura interjected. “See, I knew it!” “Hey, hey, don’t worry about it,” Toriko tried to mollify us. “You’ve all finished your drinks, right? Let’s have another toast.” “Whose is this one, with the orange and… blackcurrant?” Akari asked. “That’s mine,” said Natsumi. “Pass it here.” “Everyone else ordered beer, huh?” Kozakura noted. “Which’s yours, Toriko?” “The Bintang.” “I had one of those too,” Kozakura said. “Well, I guess these must be for Senpai and me. Bali-hai?” “Yeah, I’ll pass around the bottle-opener,” I said.

Note all the speaker names bolded above... and how they completely don't exist in the Japanese version below:

「ふー……鳥子、ちゃんと食べた？ [1]」 「食べた食べた [2]。おいしかったね」 「本当かな」 「それにしては涼しい顔してますよね [3]」 「そいつ [4]、上に乗ってるアイスばっかり食ってた気がするな [4]」 「ほらやっぱり！」 「まあまあ [2]、いいじゃん。みんなお酒なくなったでしょ。もっかい乾杯しよ [2]」 「このオレンジ入ってるやつ、カシスかな？誰のですかー？[3]」 「それウチ [5] の。ちょうだい」 「ほかみんなビール頼んだんだね」 「鳥子のどれ？ [1]」 「ビンタンとかいうやつ」 「あたし [4] のもそれだ」 「じゃあ、センパイと私がこっちですね [3]。バリハイ？」 「うん、栓抜き回すね」

You might be wondering how the hell Japanese readers tell apart who's who? Thanks to the Japanese language's rich vocabulary of personal pronouns, 'tiers of politeness' and three different writing systems, personalities are easily demonstrated via dialogue.

For example, the most common personal pronoun, "watashi" (meaning "I" or "me"), can be expressed in kanji (私), hiragana (わたし) or less commonly katakana (ワタシ). The kanji form is considered "true neutral" and also used in formal contexts such as emails, while the hiragana is more cutesy.

In the case of this specific conversation, we can roughly tell the speakers apart using the process of elimination via each person's relationship with the others:

[1] This is clearly Sorawo, as she's the only one apart from Kozakura who addresses Toriko without any honourifics, and her tone soft and casual.

[2] Toriko says "食べた食べた" and "まあまあ", which translates to "I ate it, I ate it" and "Oh well, oh well" respectively. A common speech pattern of Toriko's is to say things twice, representing her casual and chirpy demeanor. Toriko also likes to contract her words. The line "Let’s have another toast" is written in Japanese as "もっかい乾杯しよ" (romaji: mokkai), which is a shortened version of "もう一回" (romaji: mou ikkai).

[3] Akari is the only one who uses polite language (the -masu form) in this group of misfits, and also the only one who addresses Sorawo as "senpai", notably in katakana (センパイ).

[4] Interestingly, Kozakura uses "atashi" (あたし), which is considered less neutral/softer/more feminine than the standard "watashi", but the rest of her speech style is consistently rude and masculine, such as addressing the rest as "お前ら" or Toriko with "そいつ", which has a "top-down" tone.

[5] Natsumi uses the personal pronoun "uchi" (ウチ), which is sorta a gangsta/delinquent stereotype.

Mistranslation

Translation errors are for the most part very rare, minor and always come across as a case of careless misreading rather than a lack of fluency.

Apart from the ones already mentioned in passing above, I'll list two more such examples below (taken from my OP Pilgrimage List Pt. 1):

Example 1: Vol 7 (File 22 - Toilet Paper Moon)

“I hear there’s a lounge on the fourth floor here.” “A lounge…?” “It’s got a night view and you can drink there.”

「ここ、四十五階にラウンジがあるんだって」 「……ラウンジ？」 「夜景が見えて、お酒が飲めるとこ」

Here, the Japanese text says 45th floor, instead of the 4th floor.

Example 2: Vol 6 (File 20 - T is for Templeborn)

I ordered tonkatsu curry with a black roux and lots of cheese, while Toriko had roasted flounder with ginger.

私は真っ黒なルーにチーズのたっぷりかかったカツカレー、鳥子はヒラメのカツと生姜焼き。

The bolded part states "flounder katsu and shougayaki", which actually means a piece of breaded, deep fried flounder, with pork stir-fried in ginger sauce on the side.

Chinese Censorship

As most would know, censorship is heavy-handed in China, so how does a certified Yuri series get processed over there?

The Gay™ parts get re-written or entirely scrubbed and replaced with something more 'innocuous'.

I don't read OP in Chinese, but I stumbled upon this tweet by a professional Chinese translator complaining about the censorship in the Chinese version of the novels.

In Vol 5 (File 19 - Hasshaku-sama Revival), Toriko gives Sorawo a surprise kiss after they escape Hasshaku-sama:

“With no time for me to close my eyes, our lips touched… then parted again [1]. Freed from her hands [2], I stumbled backwards. As I covered my mouth and stared at her [3], Toriko said, “Let’s call it even with that.”

This is the original Japanese:

目を閉じる間もなく、唇と唇が触れて……離れた [1]。 しつこい両手から解放されて [2]、私はよろよろと後ずさった。 口を押さえる私と目を合わせたまま [3]、鳥子が言った。 「これでチャラにしてあげる」

Translation: "With no time for me to close my eyes, our lips touched... then parted again [1]. Freed from her stubborn arms [2], I stumbled backwards. As I covered my mouth, Toriko's eyes met mine [3], and she said, "Let’s call it even with that.""

Here's the Chinese text:

我甚至来不及闭上眼，只见鸟子弹了下我的额头。 [1] 好痛！[1] 抓紧不放的那双手放开了我 [2]，我趔趄着后退了几步，捂住嘴巴。 鸟子依然注视着我的眼睛 [3]，说道：“这样就一笔勾销了。”

Translation: "With no time for to close my eyes, Toriko flicked me on the forehead. That hurt! [1] Her arms that were gripping strongly released me [2], and I staggered back a few steps, covering my mouth. Still looking into my eyes [3], Toriko said, "Let's call it even with that.""

As you can tell from [1], the Chinese version replaces the kiss with a flick on the forehead, but keeps the part where Sorawo covers her mouth. You can think of it as the translator screaming "it's NOT her forehead and it's NOT a flick" with their mouth taped and their hands tied behind their back.

Honestly... I can't wait for the Chinese translation of Vol 8 to come out, if it ever does. I'd buy a copy just to see how they deal with censoring the entire book LOL.

I also bolded [2] and [3] so you can compare/contrast how the same scene is written across three languages. Apart from the censored kiss, the Chinese translation actually follows the Japanese text more closely than the English version.

Classification

A pet-peeve of mine is people calling the books light novels. OP is not LN!!! It's a bona fide novel series under the banner of a respected major publishing house which is also the largest sci-fi publisher in Japan. Don't let the illustrations on the cover fool you.